Last gasp for Mono candidates

June 1, 2012

For the seven candidates in the three Mono County Board of Supervisors races, this week is ground zero âand it all comes down to who has the most âkick.â

Voters go to the polls Tuesday, June 5. By midnight Tuesday, Mono County citizens should know who will occupy the three open county supervisor seats, barring a run-off election in the hot District 4 race.
It will be the end of a long marathon that began in the winter. Now it is up to the runners to provide that last big kick before the finish line.

âItâs in the Election Godsâ hands right now,â said District 2 incumbent Duane âHapâ Hazard.

âIâm still going out and meeting folks, but basically, this campaign is winding down. Running a campaign is like a roller coaster. One day you are up and you are getting positive feedback; the next day, someone challenges you or an issue comes up and you drop back down.â

He said he was glad there was no large-scale negative campaigning but the roll of rumors in a small community is not to be underestimated.

âItâs just something you have to keep in mind,â he said. âItâs often coming from the community and itâs a constant effort to stay ahead of and it reminds me why I hate campaigning. I am ready to work.â

âI will be spending the last few days prior to the election attempting to contact folks that I have missed so far,â said his contender, Fred Stump, pointing toward a weekend filled with door-to-door stops.
âHaving never run for an elected position before, this process has had a learning curve,â Stump said. âFrom campaign filling and reporting requirements to material ordering and event organizing, I now have an appreciation for those that run for office.â

Nevertheless, Stump said, itâs an exhausting process. âI will be grateful when it is over.

âIt takes conscious effort to maintain a positive message and not sink into the negative. I have refused to go there even when encouraged or invited by some to do so.â

In District 4, candidate Tim Fesko makes it seem like this week is no big deal.Â

âI will not rest until it is over,â he said. âAnd probably not even after that. This is for all residents and visitors of Mono County. They deserve the best and I will give that to them.â

He said the âbig divideâ between North County residents and Mammoth has never been less evident.
âTalking with so many people, especially those in Mammoth, has taught me just how much we really do have in common. People from all communities are worried about their day-to-day lives, the future of their local government and of their futures. The fact that things must not continue the âsame old wayâ is at the top of their list,â he said.

One of his two opponents, Bob Peters, is just as positive.

âThis week has been just as busy as the last 12 weeks,â he said.Â âCalling supporters, knocking on doors, giving interviews and speeches. This has been a fun campaign for me, meeting lots of new people.â
District 3âs two candidates are both experienced county supervisors, and have, over the years, often supported similar policies.

But the race has exposed a difference between incumbent Vikki Bauer and challenger Tim Alpers, with Alpers clear that the county needs to take a much harder look at how it pays its at-will employees and its union employees.

Â How they deal with the last weekend may be another difference.

âThis last week, I have just been staying busy as usual,â said Bauer. âBetween county work, campaign events, route management and other meetings, I have chosen to continue my work with the county rather than campaign full time.

âJust because the campaign is in full gear doesnât mean that the county workload stops, and Iâm not sure people understand that. I learned this time around that a clean campaign is much easier on the psyche, but re-confirmed that all campaigns are like being on a roller coaster for several months and they wonât let you off.â

âI know every dog in Mammoth,â said her contender, Tim Alpers. âItâs like the last week before NCAAâs national signing day. When I was the assistant basketball coach at the University of Tulsa, it was an absolutely sleepless week.

âThereâs a frenzy of activity; my wife canât get near me; itâs like that and Iâm approaching it the same way, but this time, Iâm probably the most disciplined Iâve ever been in my life,â he said.

Alpers said a close brush with death (complications from a hip replacement procedure) several years ago has honed his intentions to a fine point.

âI know what I want,â he said, âWe have a beautiful jewel here in this area, and we need to keep polishing it, need people to get involved in our system of government, make it work. Itâs the best system there is.â
But if he wins, he said there are some serious challenges ahead.

âI knew things were bad out there, but I had no idea of the quiet desperation people are living in,â Alpers said.Â

âOur locals are a proud, self-reliant group, but this unrelenting poor economy is seriously affecting people andÂ the suffering in the District 3 communities, especially in June Lake, due to the lack of income, is very deep, which is why I am going to make improving the human and business environment in Mono County a priority when I am elected.â

And on Wednesday?

It all will be over, except for the winners, who then must walk the talk.